Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Devil's Due ❯ - 60 - ( Chapter 60 )

— 60 —

March 24, A.C. 205. Zenica, Tanzania. 6 pm

“I can’t believe you took them all on without waiting for us,” Trowa grumped irritably. The half unit he’d brought with him from the Inado base had landed in an airfield at their arrival.

“I told you, we didn’t have a choice,” Jordan muttered for probably the hundredth time of the hour.

“Maxwell!”

They turned to see Xane moving up to them at a quick trot. “Maxwell, they’re asking for you up at the compound.”

Jordan blinked at him.

“Chance is all irritated and said if anyone, his second should be able to find him. They turned to me at that point and told me to get you.”

Jordan sighed, looking back to Trowa. “I’m sorry, all right?”

Trowa made a dismissive gestured, then pushed away from the foot of the machine he was on. “At least we can hunt down the runners.”

“How was the flight?” Xane asked, dropping a partial step behind Trowa, who was a step behind Jordan.

“Exhilarating,” Trowa grinned at him. “We played for most of it. I’d say you should try it some time, but once you get your first taste of real flying you don’t wanna let it go.”

Xane grinned at that and shrugged. “I’m not the best pilot…I’m the best spy. I’ll take what I have and be happy for it.”

Trowa laughed a bit.

“Where is Quatre?” Jordan muttered, looking around.

“He’s seeing to your arrangements,” Xane returned. “They were going to put you up in the bunkers with the rest of the men and he came up with some fluff and bother story about sleeping with his necklace off…some order he gave or something that he has to follow…so he couldn’t be put in the bunkers. They told him more or less to deal with it and he told them more or less to shove it. He’s at some fancy hotel up the street getting us rooms…evidently the seconds that are present get to join, as well as Judas and Riley,” he added to Jor. “You told her what was happening, didn’t you?”

“Don’t be offensive,” Jordan retorted. “I called her first and she told me she wasn’t going to follow and tattle on either you or Judas for me, and that she was going back to sleep, and she’d come find the action first chance she got.”

Xane sniggered, realizing he loved the woman dearly. She was like…the perfect little sister.

“I thought you’d appreciate that…she’s not here yet, I take it?”

“Not yet…you should call her.”

Jordan nodded, pulling out his phone and dialing. “Hey, beautiful,” he added after a moment. “Why don’t you come hop right along to the base here? Ten minutes? All right. See you then,” he rolled his eyes to Xane and hung up.

“I love that woman,” Xane noted happily to Trowa. “You have no idea how far her awesomeness extends.”

- -

March 26, A.C. 205. Zenica, Tanzania. 8 am

The remaining fallout was delegated to the local authorities as Jordan made the arrangements to fly Stanly Turrell back to the Inado base. As the sun rose, Trowa dispatched two of his men to fly home in the first-class seats Jordan and Chance had registered…and the plan was set that they were flying home.

Chance was just shy of ecstatic at the confirmation.

“If you want to fly,” Trowa noted to Xane, studying his machines over, “you can fly.”

“No,” Xane returned, also watching them. “I went through the suit craze and lost my chance,” he smiled slightly. “I didn’t focus nearly enough to really fly one of these babies, and you’ve trained me for it, yeah…but I don’t feel like I deserve it.”

“My guys fly all the time,” Trowa muttered, meeting his eyes. “It won’t be a hassle for them to get to ride in a plane for the flight instead of a chair.”

“No,” Xane looked back to the things. “That’s not what I meant.”

“You?” he asked Judas.

“I can’t leave Mouthy to fly alone,” Judas returned, though he showed no more resignation than Xane.

“As long as you’re sure,” Trowa muttered, giving them both confused sort of looks.

Judas pointed at Chance, who was still bouncing around impatiently, muttering pointedly to Jordan that he wanted to be off. “If that’s what it turns into, I’m fine with my feet on the ground.”

“Except we’ll be in a plane for ten hours,” Xane reminded him.

“We can use that time to get to know each other,” Judas retorted.

“Only if you wanna join the mile high club,” Xane muttered, looking away.

Judas smacked him.

Trowa rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, we’re heading to the port,” Xane muttered, looking back to their superior before moving into his personal space to give him a coy look. “I have to tell my man goodbye…” and he breezed away.

“He’s been like that all morning,” Judas noted, rolling his eyes. “He either got laid last night or he should have…I can’t tell which.”

Trowa smirked at that.

“Let’s go!” Chance protested, moving forward to grab Trowa’s arm. “Let’s get out of here!”

“Calm down,” Trowa muttered as Judas slipped around him. “You’ll have plenty of time to get over your flight withdrawal…it’s a six hour flight, you’re not gonna be bounding for all of it.”

“Why not?” Quatre asked curiously from where he was leaning against the foot of one of the beasts. “You and Wufei were.”

“I was not bounding,” Wufei retorted. “How do you bound in the air?”

“I couldn’t figure it out,” Quatre replied easily. “I decided to leave it to you two.”

Jordan snorted, hugging Xane briefly as Judas moved up to him.

Riley, who’d been with him, sighed and looked around to Xane and Judas. “Are we ready?”

“Yeah,” Xane agreed, shaking hands with Chance. “See you in ten hours,” he muttered.

“Yeah, take care,” Wufei muttered with a grin. “If your plane starts to crash call us. We might be able to come save you…I kinda like you, so it wouldn’t take much an effort.”

“I’m touched,” Xane retorted happily, then turned and started away.

“Mm,” Chance muttered as they moved from the yard.

“Wait for it,” Jordan suggested.

“Mmmm…” Chance protested, bouncing where he stood.

“Not yet…” Jordan returned, watching as his men climbed into the van they were taking to the airport.

“Mmmmmm,” Chance bounced more.

The van door shut and Chance turned completely away from them in agitated frustration.

Trowa looked to Wufei and Quatre with rolled eyes, but the only response he got was the rolling of Wufei’s eyes.

Jordan had one hand raised as he watched the van of his guys…and Trowa’s guys…pulling away. He raised that hand to wave briefly at them as Chance turned back to him almost impatiently.

The van turned.

Jordan lowered his hand and looked to Chance.

“Can we go yet?” Chance absolutely whined at his comrades.

Jordan started laughing, then turned and grabbed the tow of the machine he’d be flying.

“I think I disown you,” Trowa muttered, blinking at the Japanese male.

“Let’s go,” Jordan said in and ordering sort of tone.

Chance actually made a slight squeaking sound, then turned and absolutely launched for his own tow.

“If you didn’t see that coming, I’d have to disown you,” Quatre noted happily, moving to his own tow.

“Come on,” Wufei muttered as he started back for his own. “If you don’t get in he’s going to absolutely freak out on us…and that sounds messy.”

Trowa snorted, looking to the clear blue sky a long moment, then shook his head and made the go gesture to his team as he started for his machine.

Some days, all the fuss and bother of his rank was absolutely worth it…and really, even though there was always something else trivial on the horizon, he didn’t have a bad life. He had money, a consistent job…a house, and his friends.

All he needed was a lover, and things would all be fine.

He grabbed his tow and started it lifting him up, studying the blue skies around them as he went.

Really, he couldn’t wait to be in the skies with Chance again…to give his friend that release he was craving.

“I guess I was wrong this time, huh?” Jordan muttered to them all.

“I fail to follow that logic,” Quatre returned as he buckled in.

“What were you wrong about?” Wufei asked blankly.

“The devil’s due is innocence,” Chance noted as the door to his cockpit sealed shut. “Duo believed firmly that the war wouldn’t be over until the devil got his due.”

“Who said the war was over?” Trowa asked, buckling in himself. “What a ridiculous notion.”

“We still have a good fourteen suits to catch,” Chance agreed happily, starting up his engine.

“I still get to call and cancel on my sisters,” Quatre noted pointedly. “After I confirmed we were all going.”

Trowa sniggered.

“Yeah,” Quatre muttered. “You think it’s funny…”

“Mm,” Chance whined from where he was sitting. “Can we go?”

Trowa swept his eyes over the screens of his men, then grinned slightly. “Yeah, Chance,” he muttered. “Let’s go.”

End